


have your cake and eat it too

by to-a-merrier-world (wayward_wolves)



Series: sleepyhunk's prompts and drabbles [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, First Meetings, Fluff, M/M, Trapped In Elevator
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-18
Updated: 2017-09-18
Packaged: 2018-12-31 03:40:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12123744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wayward_wolves/pseuds/to-a-merrier-world
Summary: written for the prompt: shunk + stuck in an elevatorHunk was having a pretty rotten day, but a chance encounter with a stranger may just turn things around.





	have your cake and eat it too

**Author's Note:**

> no beta, all mistakes mine, yadda yadda, enjoy~

Today was not Hunk’s day.

First, his alarm didn’t go off and he ended up missing his usual train and having to wait for the next one. Then, some businessman spilled his coffee on Hunk’s shirt. And when he  _finally_  got to work, his boss yelled at him for being late and then yelled some more over a project that wasn’t even  _his_. (It was Carl’s, whose desk was next to Hunk’s, but who looked  _nothing_  like Hunk, so Hunk wasn’t really sure why their boss always got them confused.)

Suffice to say, today wasn’t one of Hunk’s best days. However, there was one thing that Hunk clung to like a lifeline that made the otherwise shitty day take on a hopeful tint. 

Last night, Hunk had tried a new recipe that required freezing the cake overnight before pouring a glaze over it. Hunk was not only excited to try the new treat (chocolate, raspberry, and cream? Yes, please), but to add the pictures, recipe, and other notes he made while making it to his cooking blog.

It was Hunk’s favorite hobby after cooking and baking, and since it  _involved_  cooking and baking, it made it even better. His blog was mostly frequented by stay-at-home parents, but he also got the occasional professional chef or  pâtissier who commented on his posts to either gush over the dish or give him some helpful tips.

So Hunk powered through the day, keeping his head down so his boss didn’t yell again (Hunk knew he was going through a tough time with his husband leaving him for another man, but that didn’t mean Hunk liked being yelled at).

When he finally left work, it was with a sigh of relief. He eventually made it to his apartment building without further incident. He decided to take the elevator, despite being kind of afraid of elevators, since he didn’t want to deal with walking up the four flights of stairs to his apartment.

He pressed the button and waited, hands in pockets and just ready to be back in the comfort of his own apartment, as the numbers climbed down floor by floor. After what felt like ages, the elevator finally reached the bottom floor and chimed as its doors opened.

Hunk quickly got onto the elevator and pressed the button for the fifth floor. As the doors were closing, though, someone called out for him to hold the doors. On instinct, Hunk through his arm out, catching the door just before it closed.

“Ha, thanks man,” the guy said, slightly out of breath as he slipped onto the elevator.

He looked about Hunk’s age, so late 20s or early 30s, and had obviously just finished working out, his fitted long-sleeved shirt sticking even more to his skin with sweat. He pulled out his earbuds which were connected to an iPod on his arm and gave Hunk one of the most dazzling smiles he’d ever seen. He was distressingly pretty.

It was understandable, then, that it took Hunk a few seconds too long to respond.

“Uh. No problem.”

The guy gave Hunk another smile and then leaned right into Hunk’s space, giving him a strong whiff of sweat and some woodsy smelling deodorant.

“Um.”

“Oh, sorry,” the guy said, flashing Hunk another smile as he leaned back, though this one seemed at least a little embarrassed. Maybe.

“I was just pressing my floor,” he said, gesturing towards the row of buttons next to the doors.

“Yeah, right, right,” Hunk said, nodding and feeling like a moron. 

“Right,” he said one last time, holding back a wince and wondering what he did in a past life to deserve any of this.

The pretty guy laughed and Hunk couldn’t wait to be off this elevator because  _god,_ even the guy’s laugh was beautiful, and Hunk was just  _not_  having a good day and couldn’t deal with beautiful strangers laughing in an elevator with him.

Of course, that’s when the lights in the elevator decided to shut off, the whole thing coming to a lurching stop. There were a terrifying three seconds of total darkness and silence before the emergency lights came on.

“Well, shit,” pretty guy said under his breath.

Hunk wasn’t really paying attention, though, too busy trying not to panic because he was stuck in an elevator that was several stories up and it was stopped and the electricity seemed to be out and every possible terrible scenario began playing through in his head and most of them ended with him dying or at least being hurt very very badly and his throat was starting to tighten and-

“Are…are you okay?”

Hunk inhaled sharply, shocked out of his moment of panic by the pretty guy’s concerned voice. He took several more breaths to try and calm himself down enough to answer.

“Great,” he said, voice breaking at the end. “Just fantastic. This isn’t one of my worst nightmares coming to life or anything.”

“Um,” pretty guy said, looking even more concerned. “Is there… anything I can do?”

Hunk shook his head and concentrated on breathing. Hopefully it wouldn’t get so bad that he’d have to stick his head between his legs. He hated doing that.

“I’m, uh, I’m gonna try and call the fire department,” pretty guy said, moving past Hunk to the row of buttons, one of which was the emergency call button.

Hunk didn’t bother responding, engrossing himself in the process of breathing in, holding it, breathing out, waiting a beat, and the repeating. Distantly, he heard pretty guy talking to someone, but he just concentrated on breathing in and out until the panic began to loosen its hold around his throat.

When he finally looked back up, he found pretty guy standing next to him and watching him anxiously.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” He asked.

Hunk stood up from the hunched position he’d unconsciously moved into and ran his fingers through his hair, trying to at least appear calmer.

“…Better,” he said, trying (and probably failing) to give pretty guy a reassuring smile.

Still, pretty guy looked relieved, which Hunk thought was sweet and also mildly exasperating, because  _of course_  the gorgeous guy was  _sweet_   _too_. At least he had something besides his own fears to think about. And as far as distractions went, he could do worse.

Hunk glanced down and noticed that pretty guy was wearing running tights. Yeah, he could definitely do worse.

“I’m Shiro, by the way,” pretty guy - Shiro - said, holding out his hand.

“Hunk,” he said as he took the offered hand.

Shiro raised his eyebrows at that but didn’t comment, which was a relief. It was a nickname with a complicated backstory that was hard to explain to people who didn’t know Lance, but it was the name he’d gone by since he was 17, so.

“Um, you mentioned calling the fire department, I think?” Hunk asked, trying to break the awkward silence.

“Oh, yeah,” Shiro said, startling. “They said most of their guys were out on a call on a few streets away and that they’d come as soon as they finished up. They said it may be a few hours, though…”

Hunk nodded slowly, absorbing that information.

“Greaaaaaat,” he said, trying not to let the panic take hold again. 

This was fine. He’d be fine. Everything was… Fine.

“Can you…,” Hunk started, not sure how to ask Shiro to help him stop the panic from setting in. 

Shiro cocked his head to the side, like a puppy. God, he was gorgeous, sweet,  _and_  cute?  _Seriously?_

“Can you, like… distract me?”

“…Distract you..?” Shiro asked, clearly not understanding.

Hunk took a deep breath.

“Okay, so like, I’m really trying not to panic, cause we’re stuck in this elevator for who knows how long and we’re several floors above ground floor which means that if we fall there is a really high chance of serious injury or even death and I can’t stop thinking about everything that could go wrong and it’s making it really hard not to panic, so if you could just talk or something maybe I can distract myself enough not to have a full blown panic attack.”

“Um,” Shiro said.

There was silence for several long seconds.

“Do you like cats?” Shiro asked in a rush.

“…Cats?”

“It was literally the only thing that I could think of,” Shiro said, his cheeks turning slightly red. “You said ‘distract me!’ and all my brain could think was ‘cats.’ I don’t even have a cat…”

Hunk giggled into his hand, which made Shiro chuckle, too, and before they knew it they were both laughing loudly and slightly hysterically.

When they finally calmed down, Hunk was wiping tears from his eyes.

“Oh, man,” he chuckled. “You definitely win at distraction.”

Shiro laughed again.

“I always play to win,” he joked. 

Hunk laughed before leaning back against the elevator wall and sighing. The terribleness of his entire day was really starting to set in and it was honestly ridiculous how unlucky he was.

He covered his face with his hands and groaned, dragging his hands down his face.

“Oh, man, what a day…”

“Rough day?” Shiro asked, going to lean against the opposite wall.

“Just one thing after the next,” Hunk said. “And I was  _so_  looking forward to finishing making that cake…”

“Cake? You bake?” Shiro asked, perking up.

“Yeah, it’s kind of a hobby of sorts. Do you bake?” Hunk asked hopefully. He loved finding new cooking friends.

“Oh, god, no,” Shiro said, waving his hands in front of himself. “I’m terrible at most things in the kitchen. I can make, like… four things, and none of them involve baking.”

Hunk laughed. That was something he heard pretty often from guys their age. Mostly from Lance, though, but that was because he liked to mooch food off Hunk. 

“Cooking has, like, always been a part of my life,” Hunk said. “Most of my earliest memories are me cooking with my moms… It was like a family tradition. And it had the added benefit of soothing my anxiety, and I was… _am_  a pretty anxious person. So, I’ve, uh, had a lot of practice. But my moms were always really supportive of it, even when I made really weird stuff or experimented…”

“That’s really cool,” Shiro said, smiling softly.

“Ha, yeah,” Hunk said, rubbing his neck. 

The two of them eventually settled onto the floor and started a steady back and forth, sharing stories about their childhoods, families, hobbies, college…

Hunk learned that Shiro was originally from California and went to a prestigious Science and Technology university that had close ties with NASA, pursuing a degree in astrophysics. He learned that Shiro lost his right arm in a plane accident when he was 22 years old, and that now he was an assistant professor at the local university. 

He also learned that Shiro’s favorite food was macaroni and cheese (especially with breadcrumbs); that his best friend’s name was Keith and his other best friend’s name was Allura (and they were married to each other and had just adopted the cutest puppy in the world); and that one of his colleagues, a young genius named “Pidge,” had declared Shiro her mortal enemy because she found out he played Pokemon Go and had stolen her gym from her.

Eventually, there was a bunch of loud banging and then the elevator doors were pulled open a few inches.

“Fire department,” a woman said. “We heard y’all were a little stuck?”

Hunk and Shiro laughed, partly in relief that they were finally getting free. They both stood up and started stretching and Hunk glanced down at his watch.

 _Wow_ , he thought, almost doing a double take.  _Three hours? We’ve been stuck in here for three hours?? It didn’t feel that long…_

Hunk glanced over at Shiro, who had his hands linked above his head in a stretch. Hunk hadn’t clicked with someone like this… well, since Lance, but he wasn’t attracted to Lance. Well, okay, he wasn’t attracted to Lance  _anymore_. He’d outgrown that crush nearly a decade ago.

Which was kind of the point. Hunk hadn’t clicked with someone like this in nearly  _a decade_. He wasn’t even freaked out over Shiro being beautiful and sweet, anymore. They’d been so busy getting to know each other, laughing at ridiculous stories and sharing some personal stuff, that he hadn’t even had the chance to freak out.

Hunk… wasn’t sure what to do about this.

It only took the fire department another 20 minutes to get the doors open and help Shiro and Hunk out onto the fifth floor. After briefly checking them both over, the firefighters shooed them both away to deal with putting up caution tape around the elevator to keep people away.

“This is, uh, my floor,” Hunk said, gesturing down the hall to his door.

“Oh. Right,” Shiro said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Um… I guess I’ll see you around?”

“Oh, um. Okay then,” Hunk said. 

He tried not to feel disappointed. It wasn’t like he and Shiro were best friends or anything. So what, they were stuck in the elevator for a few hours and Hunk felt like there was something there… That didn’t mean something was  _actually_  there. Sure, it kind of stung to be brushed off, but he’d live. He always did.

Hunk waved awkwardly before turning and making his way towards his door. He pulled his key out of his pocket, but stopped right before sticking the key in the lock.

This was stupid. Hunk felt something for someone for the first time in ages, and more than that, he felt  _comfortable_  around them. And he was just going to let it go?

 _Be brave, Hunk_ , he yelled at himself.  _Be brave! Be brave! **Just go be fucking brave!!!**_

Hunk turned around, seeing Shiro just start to reach for the door leading to the stairwell.

“Hey!” He called out.

Shiro’s head whipped up, his eyes wide.

“You, uh. Want some cake?” Hunk asked, gesturing towards his door with a lopsided grin.

Shiro’s face lit up and he immediately started walking back towards Hunk.

“I love cake,” he said. “I mean, I’d love to. Have cake. With you.”

Hunk bit his lip and tried not to laugh, but then Shiro giggled and Hunk couldn’t stop himself.

“I want to eat cake with you, too.”

**Author's Note:**

> comments/kudos always appreciated!


End file.
